Virtual sound generation apparatus, system including the same, and method thereof

ABSTRACT

A virtual sound generation apparatus is provided. The virtual sound generation apparatus includes a first sensor configured to obtain biometric information about a passenger, an output device configured to output a virtual sound, and a processor electrically connected with the first sensor and the output device. The processor is configured to determine driving sensibility for the passenger based on electroencephalogram (EEG) obtained by the first sensor, generate an effect signal for guiding the passenger to be stimulated depending on the driving sensibility, and control the output of the virtual sound based on the effect signal.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) the benefit of andpriority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0045847, filed in theKorean Intellectual Property Office on Apr. 13, 2022, the entirecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a virtual sound generation apparatus,a system including the same, and a method thereof, and moreparticularly, relates to technologies for improving driving satisfactionof a driver by generating a virtual sound based on driving sensibilityof the driver and a driving state of a vehicle.

2. Description of Related Art

In general, a motor is provided as a power source in an eco-friendlyvehicle such as an electric vehicle.

Because the engine produces almost no noise when the electric vehicle isdriven by the electric motor, unlike when a vehicle is driven by aninternal combustion engine, although the electric vehicle is turned on,a driver of the electric vehicle may not know whether the electricvehicle is in a drivable state. Furthermore, because pedestrians aroundthe electric vehicle may not even recognize the approaching of theelectric vehicle even while the electric vehicle is traveling, there isa possibility that a safety accident may occur.

Thus, a virtual engine sound system for allowing pedestrians to easilyrecognize a vehicle approaching state by playing and outputting virtualnoise to the outside of the electric vehicle is applied to the electricvehicle.

In general, the virtual engine sound system simply outputs a sound forrecognizing the electric vehicle, for example, may adjust and outputvolume of a virtual sound similar to an engine sound or a sound sourcein which the engine sound is recorded, depending on a speed of theelectric vehicle. Thus, a passenger feels a sense of difference from theactual engine sound.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure has been made to address the above-mentionedbackground description of the related art while advantages achieved bythe related art are maintained intact.

An aspect of the present disclosure provides a virtual sound generationapparatus for improving driving satisfaction of a driver based on adriving sensibility of the driver and a driving state of a vehicle, asystem including the same, and a method thereof.

Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a virtual soundgeneration apparatus for generating a sound to experience psychologicalstability or pleasure based on driving sensibility of a driver and adriving state of a vehicle, a system including the same, and a methodthereof.

The technical problems to be addressed by the present disclosure are notlimited to the aforementioned problems, and any other technical problemsnot mentioned herein will be clearly understood from the followingdescription by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosurepertains.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a virtual soundgeneration apparatus may include a first sensor configured to obtainbiometric information about a passenger, an output device configured tooutput a virtual sound, and a processor electrically connected with thefirst sensor and the output device. The processor may be configured to:determine a driving sensibility for the passenger based on the biometricinformation obtained by the first sensor, generate an effect signal forguiding the passenger to be stimulated depending on the drivingsensibility, and control the output virtual sound based on the effectsignal.

In an embodiment, the virtual sound may include at least one of: avirtual engine sound of a vehicle and/or a guidance sound for providinga notification of an operation state of the vehicle or any combinationthereof.

In an embodiment, the virtual sound generation apparatus may furtherinclude a memory configured to store a plurality of virtual soundshaving different registers. The processor may be further configured tosynthesize at least one of the plurality of virtual sounds with theeffect sound and output a composite sound.

In an embodiment, the virtual sound generation apparatus may furtherinclude a second sensor configured to collect information associatedwith a driving state of a vehicle. The processor may be furtherconfigured to select at least one of the plurality of virtual soundsstored in the memory based on the information collected by the secondsensor.

In an embodiment, the processor may be further configured to determine aresult comprising at least one of: a low-speed driving environment, anacceleration driving environment, and/or a congestion section drivingenvironment based on the information collected by the second sensor,select at least one virtual sound corresponding to the determinedresult, and generate the effect signal based on the biometricinformation obtained while the selected virtual sound is output.

In an embodiment, the processor may be further configured to determine amanipulation state of the passenger based on the information collectedby the second sensor, select at least one virtual sound corresponding tothe determined result, and generate the effect signal based on biometricinformation obtained while the selected at least one virtual sound isoutput.

In an embodiment, the first sensor may include at least one of: anon-contact type electroencephalogram (EEG) sensor configured to obtainan EEG reading of the passenger, a heart rate sensor configured tomeasure a heart rate of the passenger, and/or a body temperature sensorconfigured to measure a body temperature of the passenger.

In an embodiment, the processor may be further configured to: determinewhether the passenger experiences a stimulus based on informationcollected by means of the first sensor, while the output of the virtualsound is controlled, and re-generate, when it is determined that thepassenger does not experience the stimulus, the effect signal andcontrol the output of the virtual sound based on the re-generated effectsignal.

In an embodiment, the virtual sound generation apparatus may furtherinclude at least one indoor lighting feature. The processor may befurther configured to control, while the output of the virtual sound iscontrolled, the at least one indoor lighting feature using a lightemitting pattern corresponding to the driving sensibility.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a vehicle systemmay include a manipulation device including a steering input device, anacceleration input device, and a brake input device and a virtual soundgeneration apparatus electrically connected with the manipulationdevice. The virtual sound generation apparatus may be configured toobtain biometric information about a passenger who controls themanipulation device, determine at least one driving sensibility for thepassenger based on the biometric information, generate an effect signalfor guiding the passenger to be stimulated depending on the drivingsensibility, and control an output of a virtual sound based on theeffect signal.

In an embodiment, the vehicle system may further include a memoryconfigured to store a plurality of virtual sounds having differentregisters. The virtual sound generation apparatus may be configured toselect at least one virtual sound corresponding to a driving state of avehicle and generate the effect signal based on biometric informationobtained while the virtual sound is output.

In an embodiment, the virtual sound generation apparatus may beconfigured to: determine a first driving sensibility based on thebiometric information, output a first effect signal while the virtualsound is output, and when the first driving sensibility is determined,determine a second driving sensibility based on the biometricinformation; and output a second effect signal while the virtual soundis output, and when the second driving sensibility is determined.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an operationmethod of a virtual sound generation apparatus may include obtainingbiometric information about a passenger from a first sensor configuredto collect the biometric information, determining a driving sensibilityfor the passenger based on the obtained biometric information,generating an effect signal for guiding the passenger to be stimulateddepending on the driving sensibility, and controlling an output of avirtual sound based on the effect signal.

In an embodiment, the virtual sound may include at least one of: avirtual engine sound of a vehicle and/or a guidance sound, the virtualsound providing a notification of an operation state of the vehicle

In an embodiment, the operation method may further include synthesizingat least one of a plurality of virtual sounds having different registerswith the effect signal, the plurality of virtual sounds being stored ina memory of the virtual sound generation apparatus, and outputting acomposite sound.

In an embodiment, the operation method may further include selecting atleast one of the plurality of virtual sounds stored in the virtual soundgeneration apparatus, based on information collected by a second sensorconfigured to collect the information associated with a driving state ofa vehicle.

In an embodiment, the operation method may further include determining,based on the information collected by the second sensor, at least one ofa low-speed driving environment, an acceleration driving environment,and/or a congestion section driving environment, selecting at least onevirtual sound corresponding to the determined result, and generating,based on the information collected by the second sensor, the effectsignal based on biometric information obtained while the selectedvirtual sound is output.

In an embodiment, the operation method may further include determining,based on the information collected by the second sensor, a manipulationstate of the passenger for the vehicle, selecting at least one virtualsound corresponding to the determined result, and generating, based onthe biometric information obtained while the selected virtual sound isoutput, the effect signal.

In an embodiment, the operation method may further include determining,based on the information collected by the first sensor and while theoutput of the virtual sound is being controlled, whether the passengerexperiences a stimulus, and regenerating the effect signal when it isdetermined that the passenger does not experience the stimulus; andcontrolling the output of the virtual sound based on the re-generatedeffect signal.

In an embodiment, the operation method may further include controlling,while the output of the virtual sound is being controlled, at least oneindoor lighting in a vehicle using a light emitting patterncorresponding to the driving sensibility.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentdisclosure will be more apparent from the following detailed descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a vehiclesystem including a virtual sound generation apparatus according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, and 2E are drawings illustrating a configurationof a virtual sound generation apparatus according to variousembodiments;

FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating an operation algorithm of a virtualsound generation apparatus according to various embodiments;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating another configuration of avirtual sound generation apparatus according to various embodiments;

FIG. 5 is a drawing illustrating another operation algorithm of avirtual sound generation apparatus according to various embodiments;

FIG. 6 is a drawing illustrating an operation of synthesizing a virtualsound with an effect signal according to various embodiments;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a virtual soundgeneration apparatus according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of outputting acomposite sound in a virtual sound generation apparatus according tovarious embodiments;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating another operation of outputting acomposite sound in a virtual sound generation apparatus according tovarious embodiments;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating another operation of outputting acomposite sound in a virtual sound generation apparatus according tovarious embodiments; and

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a computingsystem for executing the method according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

With regard to description of drawings, the same or similar notationsmay be used for the same or similar components.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed in detail with reference to the exemplary drawings. In thedrawings, the same reference numerals will be used throughout todesignate the same or equivalent elements. In addition, a detaileddescription of well-known features or functions will be ruled out inorder not to unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present disclosure.

In describing the components of the embodiment according to the presentdisclosure, terms such as first, second, “A”, “B”, (a), (b), and thelike may be used. These terms are only used to distinguish one elementfrom another element, but do not limit the corresponding elementsirrespective of the order or priority of the corresponding elements.Furthermore, unless otherwise defined, all terms including technical andscientific terms used herein are to be interpreted as is customary inthe art to which the present disclosure belongs. Such terms as thosedefined in a generally used dictionary are to be interpreted as havingmeanings equal to the contextual meanings in the relevant field of art,and are not to be interpreted as having ideal or excessively formalmeanings unless clearly defined as having such in the presentapplication.

The present disclosure described below relates to a virtual soundgeneration apparatus for providing a virtual sound (e.g., sensibilitycontent and super-realistic sound content) for constructing a soundscape, a system including the same, and a method thereof. For example,the virtual sound generation apparatus, the system including the same,and the method thereof may generate a virtual sound based on anautonomous sensory meridian response of guiding a passenger to bestimulated based on driving information (e.g., driver manipulationinformation by a speed and a pedal or the like) of a vehicle, a drivingenvironment (e.g., a low-speed driving environment, an accelerationdriving environment, a congestion section driving environment, or thelike) of the vehicle, and/or biometric information (e.g., EEG, a heartrate, a body temperature, or the like) of the passenger and may providevarious sounds based on sensibility modeling of the passenger.

A vehicle described below may refer to an eco-friendly vehicle in whicha motor as a power source is provided, which refers to including avehicle driven by the riding and manipulation of a driver and anautonomous vehicle having a function capable of allowing the vehicle todrive on its own without the intervention of the driver. Furthermore, acar is described as one example of a vehicle in the description below,and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, variousembodiments below are applicable to various means of transportation suchas a ship, an airplane, a train, a motorcycle, or a bicycle.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described indetail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 11 .

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a vehiclesystem including a virtual sound generation apparatus according tovarious embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the vehiclesystem may be interpreted as a vehicle or some components of thevehicle.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a vehicle system 100 according to variousembodiments may include a manipulation device 101, a driving device 102,a braking device 103, a sensor 104, a memory 105, an output device 106,and a processor 107.

However, this is merely illustrative, and the present disclosure is notlimited thereto. For example, at least one of the components of thevehicle system 100, which are described above, may be omitted or one ormore other components may be added to the configuration of the vehiclesystem 100. Furthermore, at least one of the components of the vehiclesystem 100, which are described above, may be integrated with anothercomponent.

According to an embodiment, the manipulation device 101 may receive auser input for driving. According to an embodiment, the manipulationdevice 101 may include a steering input device (e.g., a steering wheel),an acceleration input device (e.g., an accelerator pedal), and a brakeinput device (e.g., a brake pedal).

However, this is merely illustrative, and the present disclosure is notlimited thereto. For example, devices for manipulating a seat heatingwire, an interior light, a radio, a navigation system, a turn signal, atail lamp, a headlamp, a wiper, an air conditioner and furnace, and thelike loaded into the vehicle may be configured as at least a part of themanipulation device 101.

According to various embodiments, the driving device 102 may generate apower source associated with driving of the vehicle. According to anembodiment, the driving device 102 may include an engine and/or a motor.

For example, power generated by the driving device 102 may betransferred to an axle through a transmission and a differential geardevice. Thus, as a drive wheel rotates by the axle, the vehicle travels.As the transmission, the differential gear device, the axle, and thedrive wheel are well known in many documents, a detailed descriptionthereof will be omitted in the present disclosure.

According to various embodiments, the braking device 103 may performelectronic control of a brake apparatus in the vehicle. According to anembodiment, the braking device 103 may control operations of brakesrespectively arranged on a plurality of drive wheels to adjust a speed(e.g., deceleration) of the vehicle.

According to various embodiments, the sensor 104 may sense a state of apassenger and/or a state of the vehicle system 100 and may generate anelectrical signal or a data value corresponding to the sensed state.

According to an embodiment, as will be described with reference to FIG.2A, the sensor 104 may include a first sensor 200 configured to collectbiometric information about a passenger. Additionally, as will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 4 , the sensor 104 may include a secondsensor 400 configured to collect information associated with a drivingstate of the vehicle system 100.

However, this is merely illustrative, and the present disclosure is notlimited thereto. For example, the sensor 104 may further include varioussensors, such as a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensor, a radarsensor, a camera sensor, and an ultrasonic sensor, which are capable ofsensing a surrounding environment (e.g., a surrounding object) aroundthe vehicle system 100.

According to various embodiments, the memory 105 may include datarelated to at least one other component of the vehicle system 100 and aprogram, an algorithm, a routine, and/or an instruction associated withan operation (or control) of the vehicle system 100.

For example, the memory 105 may include at least one type of storagemedium, such as a flash memory type memory, a hard disk type memory, amicro type memory, a card type memory (e.g., a secure digital (SD) cardor an extreme digital (XD) card), a random access memory (RAM), a staticRAM (SRAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), anelectrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), a magnetic RAM (MRAM), a magneticdisk, or an optical disk, or any combination thereof.

According to various embodiments, the output device 106 may outputinformation associated with an operation of the vehicle system 100.According to an embodiment, the output device 106 may include a soundoutput device (e.g., a speaker) configured to output audibleinformation. Additionally, the output device 106 may include a display(e.g., a head-up display, a touch screen, a cluster, or the like)configured to output visual information, a haptic module (e.g., a motor,a piezoelectric element, an electrical stimulation device, or the like)configured to output tactile information, or the like.

According to various embodiments, the processor 107 may be electricallyconnected with the manipulation device 101, the driving device 102, thebraking device 103, the sensor 104, the memory 105, and the outputdevice 106 and may control the overall operation of the vehicle system100. According to an embodiment, the processor 107 may be an electroniccontrol unit (ECU), a micro controller unit (MCU), or anothersub-controller, which is loaded into the vehicle.

The vehicle system 100 according to an embodiment may include a virtualsound generation apparatus 116 configured to generate a virtual soundbased on driving sensibility of a passenger (e.g., a driver) and adriving state of the vehicle. Such a virtual sound generation apparatus116 may be implemented in the vehicle. In this case, the virtual soundgeneration apparatus 116 may be integrally configured with control unitsin the vehicle or may be implemented as a separate device to beconnected with the control units of the vehicle by a separate connectionmeans.

For example, the virtual sound generation apparatus 116 may be composedof the sensor 104, the memory 105, the output device 106, and theprocessor 107. This is merely illustrative, and another component of thevehicle system 100 may be added to the configuration of the virtualsound generation apparatus 116.

A description will be given of the virtual sound generation apparatus116 according to various embodiments with reference to FIGS. 2A to 6 .

FIGS. 2A to 2E are drawings illustrating a configuration of a virtualsound generation apparatus according to various embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 2A, a virtual sound generation apparatus 116 of FIG. 1may include a first sensor 200 configured to collect biometricinformation about a passenger. The first sensor 200 may include at leastone of an electroencephalogram (EEG) sensor 202, a heart rate sensor204, or a body temperature sensor 206, or any combination thereof.However, this is merely illustrative, and the present disclosure is notlimited thereto. A sensor configured to collect various types of piecesof biometric information may be additionally provided.

According to an embodiment, the EEG sensor 202 may obtain an EEG signalfrom the biometric information collected from the passenger. The EEGsignal may be an important index for measuring brain activity, which maybe differently measured according to a mental and physical state of thepassenger.

In general, the EEG sensor 202 may obtain an EEG signal in a state it isin contact with a body (e.g., a head) of the passenger. However, becausegel or saline should be applied to the body of the passenger whenmeasuring EEG and because the material of the EEG sensor 202 which is incontact with the body of the passenger is a metal material, thepassenger may feel uncomfortable wearing the EEG sensor 202 and the EEGsensor 202 which is in contact with the body of the passenger may act asan element of interfering with driving of the passenger. Thus, thepresent disclosure may use the non-contact type EEG sensor 202configured to obtain an EEG signal in a state where it is disposedspaced apart from the body of the passenger.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2B, the EEG sensor 202 may be provided inthe interior of the vehicle, which is spaced apart from a passenger at acertain distance, and may be configured to transmit an electromagneticwave to at least a part of the body of the passenger and receive asignal reflected and returned from the at least a part of the body. Forexample, fine motion and EEG for a part (e.g., a neck, eyes, a head, orthe like) of the body, which are caused from fine vibration of thevestibular system affecting the autonomic nervous system, respiration,and the cardiovascular system, may have a correlation therebetween.Thus, the EEG sensor 202 may sense fine motion for the body from thesignal reflected from a part of the body and may obtain an EEG signalbased on the sensed fine motion.

According to an embodiment, the heart rate sensor 204 may obtain a heartrate from the biometric information collected from the passenger. Theheart rate sensor 204 may include a light emitting part and a lightreceiving part, which may sense light returned to the light receivingpart after light emitted by the light emitting part is reflected from apart of the body and may convert the sensed light into an electricalsignal, thus measuring a heart rate.

According to an embodiment, the body temperature sensor 206 may measurea body temperature of the passenger from the biometric informationcollected from the passenger. The body temperature sensor 206 maymeasure a temperature delivered from the body.

The heart rate sensor 204 and the body temperature sensor 206 may bearranged to be in direct contact with the body to derive an accuratemeasurement result. For example, as shown in FIG. 2C, the heart ratesensor 204 and/or the body temperature sensor 206 may be provided in asteering wheel 210. When the passenger holds the steering wheel 210, theheart rate sensor 204 and/or the body temperature sensor 206 may be incontact with a palm of the passenger.

However, this is merely illustrative, and the present disclosure is notlimited thereto. For example, as shown in FIG. 2D, the heart rate sensor204 and/or the body temperature sensor 206 may be provided in a seatassembly 212 in the vehicle or may be arranged in various places whichare easy to come into contact with a body (e.g., a palm, a finger, andthe like) of the passenger and may be configured to support anon-contact scheme.

Furthermore, the heart rate sensor 204 and/or the body temperaturesensor 206 may be provided as component(s) separated from a vehiclesystem 100 of FIG. 1 . For example, as shown in FIG. 2E, the vehiclesystem 100 may obtain hear rate information and body temperatureinformation, measured by an external device 230 (e.g., a wearabledevice) worn on the body of the passenger, through communication.

In this regard, a description will be given of an operation of thevirtual sound generation apparatus 116 with reference to FIG. 3 .

FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating an operation algorithm of a virtualsound generation apparatus according to various embodiments. FIG. 6 is adrawing illustrating an operation of synthesizing a virtual sound withan effect signal according to various embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 3 , a processor 107 of FIG. 1 according to variousembodiments may determine driving sensibility for a passenger based onfirst sensing information collected by means of a first sensor 200 ofFIG. 2A (refer to reference numeral 301).

The driving sensibility may be a stimulus (or a sense of psychologicalstability or pleasure) a passenger wants to obtain by means of vehicledriving. For example, the driving sensibility may include first drivingsensibility (hereinafter, referred to as “relax sensibility”) allowingthe passenger to feel stimulated by means of safety driving, seconddriving sensibility (hereinafter, referred to as “high-performancevehicle sensibility”) allowing the passenger to feel stimulated by meansof high performance, and third driving sensibility (hereinafter,referred to as “meditation sensibility”) allowing the passenger to feelstimulated by means of stress relief.

Such driving sensibility may be determined by an emotion of thepassenger, which is obtained by means of biometric information. Theprocessor 107 may generate an effect signal based on the drivingsensibility (refer to reference numeral 303). The effect signal may beinformation about a sound guiding the passenger to be stimulated.

For example, the processor 107 may determine an emotion of the passengerbased on the result of comparing the measured heart rate, EEG, and bodytemperature with a predefined emotion recognition model. For example,whether the passenger has a happy emotion, a pleasant emotion, a strongemotion, or the like may be determined by the result of the comparisonwith the emotion recognition model.

According to an embodiment, there may be a high possibility that thepassenger in a happy emotion state will drive with the relax sensibilitywhen the passenger drives. Thus, the processor 107 may generate theeffect signal for outputting a sound which provides a comfortable andstable atmosphere such that safety driving of the passenger ismaintained.

According to an embodiment, there may be a high possibility that thepassenger in the happy emotion state will drive with thehigh-performance vehicle sensibility when the passenger drives. Thus,the processor 107 may generate the effect signal for outputting a soundhaving a strong beat such that the processor may experience highperformance.

According to an embodiment, there may be a high probability ofoccurrence of a safety accident when the passenger in a strong emotionstate drives. Thus, the processor 107 may generate the effect signal foroutputting a sound which provides psychological stability to reducestress of the passenger such that driving of meditation sensibility isperformed.

The above-mentioned condition of determining the driving sensibility andthe method for generating the effect signal according to the conditionare according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The drivingsensibility may be determined or the effect signal may be generated invarious methods other than the above-mentioned methods. For example,information associated with a driving state (or vehicle control), whichis collected by means of a second sensor 400 described below withreference to FIG. 4 may be used to determine driving sensibility.

For example, the processor 107 may determine driving sensibility for apassenger based on an accelerator pedal opening amount (or anaccelerator pedal manipulation pattern), a gear shift state (or a gearshift pattern), or the like. As an example, a manipulation pattern formanipulating an accelerator pedal below a certain number of times duringa certain time may be associated with the first driving sensibilityand/or the second driving sensibility, and a manipulation pattern formanipulating the accelerator pedal over the certain number of timesduring the certain time may be associated with the third drivingsensibility.

Furthermore, the processor 170 may determine driving sensibility for thepassenger based on a speed of the vehicle, revolutions per minute (RPM)of the engine of the vehicle, or the like. As an example, a vehiclespeed of less than a certain level may be associated with the firstdriving sensibility and/or the second driving sensibility, and a vehiclespeed of greater than or equal to the certain level may be associatedwith the third driving sensibility.

According to various embodiments, the processor 107 may output a virtualsound based on the effect signal (refer to reference numeral 305). Thevirtual sound may include a virtual engine sound. In addition, thevirtual sound may include various types of guidance sounds which providea notification of an operation state of the vehicle (e.g., a guidancesound which provides a notification that the vehicle is started, aguidance sound which provides a notification that the door is opened).For example, the processor 107 may synthesize (or apply) the effectsound with (or to) the virtual sound and may output the synthesized (orapplied) sound.

According to an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6 , the processor 107 maydecompose a predefined virtual sound 600 in a certain unit 611 (e.g.,for each grain) (refer to reference numeral 610) and may performprocessing, for example, pitch control, gain control, grain levelcontrol, or frequency filtering, of each decomposed virtual sound basedon the effect signal (refer to reference numeral 620).

For example, when an effect signal for outputting a sound which providesa comfortable and stable atmosphere is generated such that safetydriving of the passenger is maintained, the passenger 107 may process apredefined virtual sound (e.g., a predefined driving sound) such thatthe predefined virtual sound (or the predefined driving sound) providesthe comfortable and stable atmosphere.

For another example, when an effect signal for outputting a sound havinga strong beat is generated to experience high performance, the passenger107 may process the predefined virtual sound (e.g., the predefineddriving sound) such that the passenger feels the thrust of a vehicle bythe predefined virtual sound (or the predefined driving sound).

For another example, when an effect signal for outputting a sound whichprovides a sense of psychological stability is generated, the processor107 may process the predefined virtual sound such that the predefinedvirtual sound provides the sense of psychological stability.

In this regard, as a result of analyzing a relationship between afrequency and a sound pressure level (SPL) of the virtual sound to whichthe effect signal is applied, the virtual sound generation apparatus mayoutput a virtual sound having a lower register which provides thecomfortable and stable atmosphere, a virtual sound having an upperregister which provides high performance experience, and a virtual soundhaving a middle register which provides the sense of psychologicalstability.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating another configuration of avirtual sound generation apparatus according to various embodiments.FIG. 5 is a drawing illustrating another operation algorithm of avirtual sound generation apparatus according to various embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 4 , a virtual sound generation apparatus 116 of FIG. 1according to various embodiments may differentiate a virtual soundsynthesized with an effect signal depending on a driving state (or adriving environment) of a vehicle. For example, the virtual soundgeneration apparatus 116 may provide a virtual sound differentiatedaccording to a low-speed driving state, a constant-speed driving state,an acceleration driving state, or a congestion section driving state ofthe vehicle.

According to various embodiments, the virtual sound generation apparatus116 may include a second sensor 400 configured to collect informationassociated with a driving state of the vehicle. The second sensor 400may include at least one of a wheel speed sensor 402, an acceleratorpedal sensor 404, or a gear sensor 406, or any combination thereof.However, this is merely illustrative, and the present disclosure is notlimited thereto. For example, the information associated with thedriving state of the vehicle may include lateral acceleration,longitudinal acceleration, or a yaw rate. In this regard, a lateralacceleration sensor, a longitudinal acceleration sensor, and a yaw ratesensor may be provided as components of the virtual sound generationapparatus 116.

According to an embodiment, the wheel speed sensor 402 may be mounted ona drive wheel and may be configured to measure RPM (or a wheel speed) ofthe drive wheel. The wheel speed sensor 402 is schematically shown asone in the drawing, but not limited thereto. The wheel speed sensor 402may be mounted for each drive wheel to measure a rotational speed ofeach drive wheel.

According to an embodiment, the accelerator pedal sensor 404 may beconfigured to measure a position of an accelerator pedal operated by thedriver. For example, the accelerator pedal sensor 404 may output aquantitative measurement value corresponding to a displacement of theaccelerator pedal.

According to an embodiment, the gear sensor 406 may measure a gear shiftstate. For example, the gear sensor 406 may measure a rotational speedof a drive gear.

In this regard, a description will be given of an operation of thevirtual sound generation apparatus 116 with reference to FIG. 5 .

Referring to FIG. 5 , as described above with reference to FIG. 3 , aprocessor 107 of FIG. 1 according to various embodiments may determinedriving sensibility for a passenger based on first sensing information(refer to reference numeral 301) and may generate an effect signal basedon the driving sensibility (refer to reference numeral 303). Accordingto an embodiment, the processor 107 may generate different effectsignals depending on the driving sensibility for the passenger. Theeffect signal may include an after-burn sound. For example, theprocessor 107 may generate an after-burn sound to which a first effectis applied as the effect signal, based on driving sensibility forallowing the passenger to feel stimulated by means of high performance.Furthermore, the processor 107 may generate an after-burn sound to whicha second effect different from the first effect is applied as the effectsignal, based on driving sensibility for allowing the passenger to feelstimulated by means of safety driving.

In addition, according to various embodiments, the processor 107 maygenerate a virtual sound based on second sensing information collectedby means of the second sensor 400 (refer to reference numeral 500).

According to an embodiment, similar to that described with reference toFIG. 6 , the processor 107 may decompose a predefined virtual sound 600in a certain unit 611 (e.g., for each grain) (refer to reference numeral610) and may perform processing, for example, pitch control, gaincontrol, grain level control, or frequency filtering, of each decomposedvirtual sound based on at least one of a speed of the vehicle, RPM ofthe engine of the vehicle, an accelerator pedal opening amount of thevehicle, or a gear shift state of the vehicle (refer to referencenumeral 620), or any combination thereof, thus generating a virtualsound.

For example, when the driving state of the vehicle corresponds to afirst state (e.g., a low-speed driving state of less than 30 km/h), theprocessor 107 may generate a first virtual sound corresponding to thevehicle in the low-speed driving state. For example, the first virtualsound may be a virtual engine sound having a first register (e.g., alower register) which provides a grand feeling.

For another example, when the driving state of the vehicle correspondsto a second state (e.g., a high-speed driving state of greater than orequal to 100 km/h), the processor 107 may generate a second virtualsound corresponding to the vehicle in the high-speed driving state. Forexample, the second virtual sound may be a virtual engine sound having asecond register (e.g., an upper register) which provides an intensefeeling.

For another example, when the driving state of the vehicle correspondsto a third state (e.g., a constant-speed driving state of greater thanor equal to 30 km/h and less than 100 km/h), the processor 107 maygenerate a third virtual sound corresponding to the vehicle in theconstant-speed driving state. For example, the third virtual sound maybe a virtual engine sound having a third register (e.g., a middleregister) which provides a light feeling.

For another example, when the driving state of the vehicle correspondsto a fourth state (e.g., an acceleration driving state), the processor107 may generate a fourth virtual sound corresponding to the vehicle inthe acceleration driving state. For another example, the fourth virtualsound may be a virtual engine sound which provides a sense of naturalacceleration depending on RPM of the engine of the vehicle. At thistime, the processor 107 may generate the fourth virtual sounddifferentiated according to the RPM of the engine of the vehicle. Forexample, the processor 107 may differentiate the fourth virtual sound atlow RPM of less than or equal to first RPM (e.g., 2500 RPM) from thefourth virtual sound at high RPM of greater than second RPM (e.g., 4500RPM).

For another example, when the driving state of the vehicle correspondsto a five state (e.g., a state where low-speed driving and stopping arerepeated according to traffic congestion), the processor 107 maygenerate a five virtual sound corresponding to the five state. Forexample, the five virtual sound may be a virtual engine sound where theoutput of the first virtual sound and a silent output are alternatelyoutput.

However, this is merely illustrative, and the present disclosure is notlimited thereto. For example, various types of virtual soundscorresponding to driving states of the vehicle may be stored in thevirtual sound generation apparatus 116. In this regard, the processor107 may obtain a virtual sound corresponding to a state of the vehicleamong the various types of virtual sounds which are previously stored inthe virtual sound generation apparatus 116.

According to an embodiment, the processor 107 may output the generatedvirtual sound and the effect signal.

For example, when the vehicle travels in a low-speed state (e.g., alow-speed driving state of less than 30 km/h), the processor 107 mayoutput a virtual sound which provides a grand feeling. In addition,while the virtual sound corresponding to the low-speed state is output,the processor 107 may output an after-burn sound depending on drivingsensibility of the passenger, which is determined based on the firstsensing information. At this time, while the virtual sound correspondingto the low-speed state is output, the processor 107 may output anafter-burn sound to which a first effect is applied or an after-burnsound to which a second effect is applied, depending on drivingsensibility of the passenger.

For another example, when the vehicle travels in an acceleration state,the processor 107 may output a virtual sound for allowing the passengerto feel a sense of acceleration which provides an intense feeling. Inaddition, while the virtual sound corresponding to the accelerationstate is output, the processor 107 may output an after-burn sounddepending on driving sensibility of the passenger, which is determinedbased on the first sensing information. At this time, while the virtualsound corresponding to the acceleration state is output, the processor107 may output an after-burn sound to which the first effect is appliedor an after-burn sound to which the second effect is applied, dependingon driving sensibility of the passenger.

As described above, the processor 107 may synthesize the virtual soundwith the effect signal to output the synthesized sound or may output theeffect signal rather than the virtual sound.

In this regard, the processor 107 may generate an alternative soundusing at least a portion of the effect signal. The alternative sound maybe a sound different from the virtual sound.

For example, when the vehicle travels in a constant-speed driving state,the processor 107 may output an alternative sound (e.g., a healingsound) corresponding to the constant-speed driving state together withor rather than the virtual sound. In addition, when the alternativesound corresponding to the constant-speed driving state is output, theprocessor 107 may output the alternative sound in a first scheme whichemphasizes a specific band or a second scheme which emphasizes anotherband, depending on driving sensibility of the passenger, which isdetermined based on the first sensing information.

For another example, in a state where the vehicle travels on acongestion section, the processor 107 may output an alternative soundcorresponding to the driving on the congestion section (e.g., a guidancesound for providing a notification of an operation state of the vehicle)together with or rather than the virtual sound. In addition, while thealternative sound corresponding to the driving on the congestion sectionis output, the processor 107 may output the alternative sound using afirst voice (e.g., a voice of a general user) or a second voice (e.g., avoice of a celebrity), depending on driving sensibility of thepassenger, which is determined based on the first sensing information.

Hereinafter, a description will be given in detail of an operationmethod of the virtual sound generation apparatus 116 according to thepresent disclosure with reference to FIGS. 7 to 10 .

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a virtual soundgeneration apparatus according to the present disclosure. Respectiveoperations in an embodiment below may be sequentially performed, but arenot necessarily sequentially performed. For example, an order of therespective operations may be changed, and at least two operations may beperformed in parallel. Furthermore, at least one of operations below maybe omitted according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 7 , in operation 710, a virtual sound generationapparatus 116 (or a processor 107) of FIG. 1 according to variousembodiments may collect first sensing information. The first sensinginformation may be information collected by means of a first sensor 200configured to collect biometric information. For example, EEG, a heartrate, a body temperature, and the like of a passenger may be obtained asthe first sensing information.

According to various embodiments, in operation 720, the virtual soundgeneration apparatus 116 (or the processor 107) may determine drivingsensibility for a passenger (e.g., a driver) based on the first sensinginformation. The driving sensibility may be a stimulus (or a sense ofpsychological stability or pleasure) the passenger wants to obtain bymeans of vehicle driving.

For example, the driving sensibility may include first drivingsensibility (hereinafter, referred to as “relax sensibility”) allowingthe passenger to feel stimulated by means of safety driving, seconddriving sensibility (hereinafter, referred to as “high-performancevehicle sensibility”) allowing the passenger to feel stimulated by meansof high performance, and third driving sensibility (hereinafter,referred to as “meditation sensibility”) allowing the passenger to feelstimulated by means of stress relief. According to an embodiment, thedriving sensibility may be determined by an emotion of the passenger,which is determined by means of biometric information.

According to various embodiments, in operation 730, the driving forcecontrol apparatus 116 (or the processor 107) may generate an effectsignal based on the driving sensibility. The effect signal may beinformation about a sound for guiding the passenger to be stimulated.

For example, when the driving sensibility of the passenger is determinedas the relax sensibility, the virtual sound generation apparatus 116 maygenerate an effect signal to output a sound which provides a comfortableand stable atmosphere.

For another example, when the driving sensibility of the passenger isdetermined as the high-performance vehicle sensibility, the virtualsound generation apparatus 116 may generate an effect signal to output asound having a strong beat to experience high performance.

For another example, when the driving sensibility of the passenger isdetermined as the meditation sensibility, the virtual sound generationapparatus 116 may generate an effect signal to output a sound whichprovides a sense of psychological stability to reduce stress of thepassenger.

According to various embodiments, in operation 740, the virtual soundgeneration apparatus 116 (or the processor 107) may output a compositesound obtained by synthesizing the effect signal with the virtual sound.The virtual sound may include a virtual engine sound and/or varioustypes of guidance sounds which provide a notification of an operationstate of the vehicle (e.g., a guidance sound which provides anotification that the vehicle is started, a guidance sound whichprovides a notification that the door is opened).

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of outputting acomposite sound in a virtual sound generation apparatus according tovarious embodiments.

Operations of FIG. 8 described below may indicate various embodimentsfor operation 740 of FIG. 7 . Respective operations in an embodimentbelow may be sequentially performed, but are not necessarilysequentially performed. For example, an order of the respectiveoperations may be changed, and at least two operations may be performedin parallel. Furthermore, at least one of operations below may beomitted according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 8 , in operation 810, a virtual sound generationapparatus 116 (or a processor 107) of FIG. 1 according to variousembodiments may collect second sensing information. The second sensinginformation may be information collected by means of a second sensor 400configured to collect information associated with a driving state. Forexample, at least one of a speed of a vehicle, RPM of the engine of thevehicle, an accelerator pedal opening amount of the vehicle, or a gearshift state of the vehicle, or any combination thereof may be collectedas the second sensing information.

According to various embodiments, in operation 820, the virtual soundgeneration apparatus 116 (or the processor 107) may determine a drivingstate of the vehicle based on the second sensing information. Thedriving state may include a first state where the vehicle travels at alow speed of less than a specified speed, a second state where thevehicle accelerates, and a third state where the vehicle repeats drivingat a low speed and stopping.

According to various embodiments, in operation 830, the virtual soundgeneration apparatus 116 (or the processor 107) may generate a virtualsound based on the driving state. For example, the virtual soundgeneration apparatus 116 may generate a virtual sound by decomposing apredefined virtual sound in a certain unit (e.g., for each grain) andperforming processing, such as pitch control, gain control, grain levelcontrol, or frequency filtering, of each decomposed virtual sound basedon at least one of the speed of the vehicle, the RPM of the engine ofthe vehicle, the accelerator pedal opening amount of the vehicle, or thegear shift state of the vehicle, or any combination thereof. For anotherexample, the virtual sound generation apparatus 116 may obtain a virtualsound corresponding to a state of the vehicle among the various types ofvirtual sounds which are previously stored. For example, the virtualsound generation apparatus 116 may obtain a first virtual sound capableof providing a comfortable and stable feeling when the driving state ofthe vehicle is determined as the first state, may obtain a virtual soundcapable of providing a sense of natural acceleration when the drivingstate of the vehicle is determined as the second state, and may obtain avirtual sound capable of providing a sense of psychological stabilitywhen the driving state of the vehicle is determined as the third state.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating another operation of outputting acomposite sound in a virtual sound generation apparatus according tovarious embodiments. Operations of FIG. 9 described below may indicatevarious embodiments for operation 740 of FIG. 7 . Respective operationsin an embodiment below may be sequentially performed, but are notnecessarily sequentially performed. For example, an order of therespective operations may be changed, and at least two operations may beperformed in parallel. Furthermore, at least one of operations below maybe omitted according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 9 , in operation 910, a virtual sound generationapparatus 116 (or a processor 107) of FIG. 1 according to variousembodiments may obtain first sensing information, while a compositesound is output. As described above, the first sensing information mayinclude biometric information about a passenger.

According to various embodiments, in operation 920, the virtual soundgeneration apparatus 116 (or the processor 107) may determine whether achange in driving sensibility of a passenger (e.g., a driver) isdetected based on the first sensing information. According to anembodiment, the virtual sound generation apparatus 116 may determinewhether the passenger experiences a stimulus according to drivingsensibility by the output of the composite sound.

According to various embodiments, when the driving sensibility of thepassenger is changed (e.g., when it is determined that the passengerexperiences the stimulus according to the driving sensibility), inoperation 930, the virtual sound generation apparatus 116 (or thepassenger 107) may stop outputting the composite sound and may output avirtual sound. In other words, the virtual sound generation apparatus116 may output a previously specified virtual sound to which the effectsignal is not applied.

According to various embodiments, when the driving sensibility of thepassenger is not changed (e.g., when it is determined that the passengerdoes not experience the stimulus according to the driving sensibility),in operations 940 and 950, the virtual sound generation apparatus 116(or the passenger 107) may re-generate an effect signal based on thefirst sensing information and may synthesize the re-generated effectsignal with the virtual sound to output a composite sound.

According to an embodiment, the virtual sound generation apparatus 116may determine that the passenger does not experience a stimulus by meansof the previously generated composite sound and may re-generate andoutput a composite sound for meeting the passenger.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating another operation of outputting acomposite sound in a virtual sound generation apparatus according tovarious embodiments.

Operations of FIG. 10 described below may indicate various embodimentsfor operation 740 of FIG. 7 . Respective operations in an embodimentbelow may be sequentially performed, but are not necessarilysequentially performed. For example, an order of the respectiveoperations may be changed, and at least two operations may be performedin parallel. Furthermore, at least one of operations below may beomitted according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 10 , in operation 1010, a virtual sound generationapparatus 116 (or a processor 107) of FIG. 1 according to variousembodiments may determine a first light emitting pattern for an indoorlighting based on driving sensibility of a passenger (e.g., a driver).The indoor lighting may be a mood lamp provided in a vehicle.Furthermore, the first light emitting pattern may include a lightemitting color, a light emitting pattern, brightness, or the like of theindoor lighting.

According to various embodiments, in operation 1020, the virtual soundgeneration apparatus 116 (or the processor 107) may control the indoorlighting based on the first light emitting pattern, while a compositesound is output. According to an embodiment, the virtual soundgenerating apparatus 116 may control the indoor lighting, thus help thepassenger to experience a stimulus by means of the composite sound. Forexample, while a composite sound which provides a comfortable and stableatmosphere is output, the virtual sound generation apparatus 116 mayturn on the indoor lighting using brightness and a color correspondingto the composite sound.

According to various embodiments, in operation 1030, the driving forcecontrol apparatus 116 (or the processor 107) may determine whether alight emitting pattern change condition is detected. According to anembodiment, the light emitting pattern change condition may be a changein driving sensibility for the passenger according to the compositesound and light emitting of the indoor lighting.

For example, the case where there is no change in driving sensibilityfor the passenger may be a situation where the light emitting patternchange condition is not met. Furthermore, the case where there is achange in driving sensibility for the passenger may be a situation wherethe light emitting pattern change condition is met.

According to various embodiments, when the light emitting pattern changecondition is not met, the virtual sound generation apparatus 116 (or theprocessor 107) may control the indoor lighting based on the first lightemitting pattern, while the composite sound is output.

According to various embodiments, when the light emitting pattern changecondition is met, in operation 1040, the virtual sound generationapparatus 116 (or the processor 107) may control the indoor lightingdepending on a second light emitting pattern corresponding to the lightemitting pattern change condition.

According to an embodiment, when it is determined that the passengerexperiences the stimulus according to the driving sensibility, thevirtual sound generation apparatus 116 may stop turning on the indoorlighting Furthermore, when there is the change in driving sensibilityfor the passenger, but it is determined that the passenger does notexperience the stimulus according to the driving sensibility, thevirtual sound generation apparatus 116 may change a light emittingpattern of the indoor lighting to guide the passenger to experience astimulus.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a computingsystem for executing the method according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 11 , a computing system 1100 may include at least oneprocessor 1110, a memory 1130, a user interface input device 1140, auser interface output device 1150, storage 1160, and a network interface1170, which are connected with each other via a bus 1120.

The processor 1110 may be a central processing unit (CPU) or asemiconductor device that processes instructions stored in the memory1130 and/or the storage 1160. The memory 1130 and the storage 1160 mayinclude various types of volatile or non-volatile storage media. Forexample, the memory 1130 may include a ROM (Read Only Memory) 1131 and aRAM (Random Access Memory) 1133.

Accordingly, the operations of the method or algorithm described inconnection with the embodiments disclosed in the specification may bedirectly implemented with a hardware module, a software module, or acombination of the hardware module and the software module, which isexecuted by the processor 1110. The software module may reside on astorage medium (that is, the memory 1130 and/or the storage 1160) suchas a RAM, a flash memory, a ROM, an EPROM, an EEPROM, a register, a harddisk, a removable disk, and a CD-ROM. The exemplary storage medium maybe coupled to the processor 1110. The processor 1110 may read outinformation from the storage medium and may write information in thestorage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium may be integrated withthe processor 1110. The processor 1110 and the storage medium may residein an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The ASIC mayreside within a user terminal. In another case, the processor 1110 andthe storage medium may reside in the user terminal as separatecomponents.

The present technology may generate a virtual sound based on drivingsensibility of a driver and a driving state of a vehicle, thus improvingdriving satisfaction of the driver.

Furthermore, the present technology may generate a sound to experiencepsychological stability or pleasure in generating the virtual sound,thus improving driving concentration of the driver.

In addition, various effects ascertained directly or indirectly throughthe present disclosure may be provided.

Hereinabove, although the present disclosure has been described withreference to exemplary embodiments and the accompanying drawings, thepresent disclosure is not limited thereto, but may be variously modifiedand altered by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosurepertains without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentdisclosure claimed in the following claims.

Therefore, embodiments of the present disclosure are not intended tolimit the technical spirit of the present disclosure, but provided onlyfor the illustrative purpose. The scope of the present disclosure shouldbe construed on the basis of the accompanying claims, and all thetechnical ideas within the scope equivalent to the claims should beincluded in the scope of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A virtual sound generation apparatus, comprising:a first sensor configured to obtain biometric information about apassenger; an output device configured to output a virtual sound; and aprocessor electrically connected with the first sensor and the outputdevice, wherein the processor is configured to: determine a drivingsensibility for the passenger based on the biometric informationobtained by the first sensor; generate an effect signal for guiding thepassenger to be stimulated depending on the driving sensibility; andcontrol the output virtual sound based on the effect signal.
 2. Thevirtual sound generation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the virtual soundcomprises at least one of: a virtual engine sound of a vehicle and/or aguidance sound, the virtual sound providing a notification of anoperation state of the vehicle.
 3. The virtual sound generationapparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a memory configured to store aplurality of virtual sounds having different registers, wherein theprocessor is further configured to: synthesize at least one of theplurality of virtual sounds with the effect sound; and output acomposite sound.
 4. The virtual sound generation apparatus of claim 3,further comprising: a second sensor configured to collect informationassociated with a driving state of a vehicle, wherein the processor isfurther configured to: select at least one of the plurality of virtualsounds stored in the memory based on the information collected by thesecond sensor.
 5. The virtual sound generation apparatus of claim 4,wherein the processor is further configured to: determine a resultcomprising at least one of: a low-speed driving environment, anacceleration driving environment, and/or a congestion section drivingenvironment, based on the information collected by the second sensor;select at least one virtual sound corresponding to the determinedresult; and generate the effect signal based on the biometricinformation obtained while the at least one selected virtual sound isoutput.
 6. The virtual sound generation apparatus of claim 4, whereinthe processor is further configured to: determine a manipulation stateof the passenger based on the information collected by the secondsensor; select at least one virtual sound corresponding to thedetermined result; and generate the effect signal based on biometricinformation obtained while the selected at least one virtual sound isoutput.
 7. The virtual sound generation apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe first sensor comprises at least one of: a non-contact typeelectroencephalogram (EEG) sensor configured to obtain an EEG reading ofthe passenger, a heart rate sensor configured to measure a heart rate ofthe passenger, and/or a body temperature sensor configured to measure abody temperature of the passenger.
 8. The virtual sound generationapparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:determine whether the passenger experiences a stimulus based oninformation collected by the first sensor while the output of thevirtual sound is controlled; and re-generate, when it is determined thatthe passenger does not experience the stimulus, the effect signal andcontrol the output of the virtual sound based on the re-generated effectsignal.
 9. The virtual sound generation apparatus of claim 1, furthercomprising: at least one indoor lighting feature, wherein the processoris further configured to: control, while the output of the virtual soundis being controlled, the at least one indoor lighting feature using alight emitting pattern corresponding to the driving sensibility.
 10. Avehicle system, comprising: a manipulation device comprising a steeringinput device, an acceleration input device, and a brake input device;and a virtual sound generation apparatus electrically connected with themanipulation device, wherein the virtual sound generation apparatus isconfigured to: obtain biometric information about a passenger whocontrols the manipulation device; determine at least one drivingsensibility for the passenger based on the biometric information;generate an effect signal for guiding the passenger to be stimulateddepending on the driving sensibility; and control an output of a virtualsound based on the effect signal.
 11. The vehicle system of claim 10,further comprising: a memory configured to store a plurality of virtualsounds having different registers, wherein the virtual sound generationapparatus is configured to: select at least one virtual soundcorresponding to a driving state of a vehicle; and generate the effectsignal based on the biometric information obtained while the virtualsound is output.
 12. The vehicle system of claim 11, wherein the virtualsound generation apparatus is configured to: determine a first drivingsensibility based on the biometric information; output a first effectsignal while the virtual sound is being output, and when the firstdriving sensibility is determined; determine a second drivingsensibility based on the biometric information; and output a secondeffect signal while the virtual sound is being output, and when thesecond driving sensibility is determined.
 13. An operation method of avirtual sound generation apparatus, the operation method comprising:obtaining biometric information about a passenger from a first sensorconfigured to collect the biometric information; determining a drivingsensibility for the passenger based on the obtained biometricinformation; generating an effect signal for guiding the passenger to bestimulated depending on the driving sensibility; and controlling anoutput of a virtual sound based on the effect signal.
 14. The operationmethod of claim 13, wherein the virtual sound includes at least one of:a virtual engine sound of a vehicle and/or a guidance sound, the virtualsound providing a notification of an operation state of the vehicle. 15.The operation method of claim 13, further comprising: synthesizing atleast one of a plurality of virtual sounds having different registerswith the effect signal, the plurality of virtual sounds being stored ina memory of the virtual sound generation apparatus; and outputting acomposite sound.
 16. The operation method of claim 15, furthercomprising: selecting at least one of the plurality of virtual soundsstored in the virtual sound generation apparatus, based on informationcollected by a second sensor configured to collect the informationassociated with a driving state of a vehicle.
 17. The operation methodof claim 16, further comprising: determining, based on the informationcollected by the second sensor, at least one of: a low-speed drivingenvironment, an acceleration driving environment, and/or a congestionsection driving environment; selecting at least one virtual soundcorresponding to the determined result; and generating, based on thebiometric information obtained while the selected virtual sound isoutput, the effect signal.
 18. The operation method of claim 16, furthercomprising: determining, based on the information collected by thesecond sensor, a manipulation state of the passenger for the vehicle;selecting at least one virtual sound corresponding to the determinedresult; and generating, based on the biometric information obtainedwhile the selected virtual sound is output, the effect signal.
 19. Theoperation method of claim 13, further comprising: determining, based oninformation collected by the first sensor and while the output of thevirtual sound is being controlled, whether the passenger experiences astimulus; re-generating the effect signal when it is determined that thepassenger does not experience the stimulus; and controlling the outputof the virtual sound based on the re-generated effect signal.
 20. Theoperation method of claim 13, further comprising: controlling, while theoutput of the virtual sound is being controlled, at least one indoorlighting feature in a vehicle using a light emitting patterncorresponding to the driving sensibility.